Flat battery

devans · Jun 30, 2014

Hi all,
Went on holiday and upon returning found the battery was too flat to start the car or indeed open the bonnet. Richard, I think you helped me out once before on this issue but seem to have lost the info. Am I correct in assuming I can open the bonnet manually by fiddling with something near the bonnet lever. I'm not too keen on shortening out fuse three and certainly don't want the hassle of removing the passengers side wheel arch trim.
Am I on the right path here?
Many thanks

JuliusF · Jun 30, 2014

Had just this incident about 3 months back, and I was new to Porsche's. I looked at all the alternatives and found he easiest way was to fish out the emergency ENGINE cover release (counter intuitive - stay with me) from under the rear nearside light unit - you can lift the light cluster slightly - there is play in it - I used a couple of plastic wedges to open up a 3mm gap underneath then shone a torch beam in and fished the emergency release out using coat hanger wire. A quick tug on that wire opened the boot - then I put power on the engine bay jumper terminals using jump leads and although I couldn't jump start the engine that gave enough juice to work the central locking and open the bonnet. Took me about 15 mins start to finish. Hope this helps. J

Richard_Hamilton · Jun 30, 2014

The mechanical release levers have a locking plate which stays in the lock position if the battery goes flat with the alarm set. It is possible to move the locking plate with a long-ish screwdriver from the gap between the two release levers, but it is fiddly, and a bit hit-and-miss. The easiest way is to apply a feed to the the alarm fuse, but Julian's method should also work fine.

George Elliott · Jul 5, 2014

There are two dislikes I have for these cars, one is this, the other is its brother - that stupid alarm that usually starts about the same time. Why are the Japs so much better at electrical stuff?

devans · Jul 10, 2014

Many thanks. Eventually sorted. Removed the three grommets to the locking plate cover. Then removed the three screws with a 5 mm Allen key. Raised the cover and flicked the locking plate free. Charged battery and checked 14 amps were flowing. One of my pet hates is also a flat battery if you don't use the car for two weeks. I think I need to get a trickle charger as the car is no longer used daily. Many thanks for all responses, until the next time!